European Parliament backs law for 95g/km CO2 from new cars by 2020
25 February 2014
The European Parliament backed new rules designed to achieve the CO2 emission reduction target of 95g/km for new cars by 2020. The text—approved by 499 votes in favor, 107 against and 9 abstentions—retains this target, albeit with a one-year “phase-in” period in 2020. It also allows “super credits”, whereby the cleanest cars in each manufacturer’s range count for more than others, to apply from 2020 to 2022.
In talks with the Council, Parliament’s negotiators limited the proposed “phase-in” of the 95g/km mandatory target to 95% of new cars and to a single year: 2020.
“Super-credits” (favorable weightings for cleaner cars within a manufacturer’s range) would be allowed from 2020 to 2022 (there will be no super-credits in 2016-2020), but capped at 7.5g/km over that period. The following multipliers will apply: a car emitting less than 50g/km will count as 2 passenger cars in 2020, 1.67 passenger cars in 2021, 1.33 passenger cars in 2022, and 1 passenger car in 2023.
The new UN-defined World Light Duty Test Procedure (WLTP) which better reflects real-world driving conditions, should come into force at the earliest opportunity, says the text. The European Commission has indicated its support for a 2017 deadline.
This vote means that Europe will continue to be at the cutting edge in reducing CO2 emissions from cars, as the 95g/km target represents a saving of 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. However, the cost of innovation has to be socially acceptable and economically feasible, both for consumers and manufacturers. We are also going to introduce new test cycles which will better reflect real driving conditions.
—rapporteur Thomas Ulmer (EPP, DE)
The pending update must still be approved by the Council of Ministers to enter into force.
"We are also going to introduce new test cycles which will better reflect real driving conditions."
Does this mean that they will no longer pretend that a 400 hp super car with a hybrid drive will get 60 mpg in real life driving conditions?
Posted by: sd | 25 February 2014 at 11:36 AM
@Sd - who knows, but a more realistic test would be a good thing - the current test is being fudged by the manufacturers and this makes it a bit of a joke.
What I would like to see is EVs being rated with electricity counted at the EU or national average of gms / KwH (for instance, about 525 in Ireland).
The notion that an EV is emissions free is rubbish. It is certainly "Local" emissions free, but not "global" or "national" emissions free.
However, countries differ - France gets 79% of its electricity from Nuclear, and presumably has a very low CO2 / KwH rating - Poland (or Germany) might be a lot higher as they burn a lot of coal.
Thus, you could have the situation that national ratings for the same EV (or PHEV) could be very different.
As for supercar PHEV CO2 ratings -
a: they will probably go up, and
b: It doesn't matter very much as so few of them are sold.
and
c: If they go up, the manufacturers could add a larger battery to improve the ratings - you have a lot of margin to play with on a supercar.
[ And it is a lot better for supercar manufacturers to improve the CO2 ratings of their cars than reduce the already tiny 0-60 times ]
Posted by: mahonj | 25 February 2014 at 04:28 PM
What I would like to see is EVs being rated with electricity counted at the EU or national average of gms / KwH
That's actually a very good idea but I think such a rating should have two numbers rather than just one: A "current" national average in large print and an anticipated average in small print.
The national average is going to change (and change predictably) over time, and some EV owners will even have access to different infrastructure. [Tesla for example is building a network of solar powered supercharger stations from which their customers can recharge for free. That will make their cars cleaner than any charged by a national grid.] Such a double rating system could encourage not only the adoption of cleaner cars but also the adoption of cleaner infrastructure.
Posted by: ai_vin | 26 February 2014 at 01:57 AM
The same double rating could be used for ICEVs. Using gasoline extractd from tar sands is up to 30% more polluting.
However, electricity varies even more from place to place. A multiple rating system would be required.
Posted by: HarveyD | 27 February 2014 at 07:13 AM
Not really. The car buyer usually gets this kind of information from reading the sticker on the car's door glass at the dealer. This makes it easy to compare one car to another when you're shopping for one. All we need to do is make sure the dealer fills in the right information for his location. The buyer, more likely than not, is going to be driving the new car around in the same area so this kind of local information will serve the purpose well enough.
Posted by: ai_vin | 27 February 2014 at 08:25 AM